Canadian woman Brittney Schneider, 23, left, and Lee Furlong, 23, right, from Liverpool, at the 800-year-old Thai fortress they vandalised

He told Sun Online: “Very stupid, I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing.

“I found the spray on the side of the road. I regret it all.”

Earlier he admitted he'd been "drinking all day" and said he was "blind drunk" when he picked up the can.

The graffiti - which read ''Scousse Lee'' - a misspelling of Scouse - and ''B'' on the line below - sparked outrage from locals, who accused the traveller of disrespecting the ancient 13th century monument and their country.

Police launched a manhunt and Furlong was arrested along with Canadian woman Brittney Schneider, 23 - who was with him at the time and sprayed the "B".

Officers frogmarched the pair to the site - which had already been cleaned - where they confessed to the crime.

They now face up to a decade in prison and a £23,500 fine.

Tha Phae gate is part of a crumbling wall that was built in the 13th century as a fortress to protect the city of Chiang Mai.

It is the centre of tourism in the bustling northern city and popular with backpackers, being surrounded by bars, restaurants, hotels, markets, massage parlours and shops.

Lieutenant Colonel Teerasak Sriprasert from Chiang Mai police said: ''The graffiti says 'Scousse Lee'. This means 'Scouser Lee from Liverpool'. The girl is called Brittney and she wrote a letter 'B' on the wall.

''Officers investigated the vandalism after it was seen on CCTV cameras. The offenders were tracked to a guest house near the same road as the wall.

''The accused will be investigated and prosecuted according to the law.''

Lee said that police had taken away his passport and a court hearing had been set two weeks from now.

He said: ''I've spoken to my family and I'm trying to get some help. I really need it. I honestly don't know what to do. My visa runs out in two days, that's another problem.

''I had been having such an amazing time here. The best time of my life. I'm just devastated that I've done something so stupid. I'm sorry to all the Thai people that have been offended by it. I've been an idiot.

''I was blind drunk when it happened. I couldn't even write properly that's how drunk I was.''

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CCTV footage shows Furlong first sprayed ''Scousse'' before the Canadian girl puts the first initial of her name below.

The Liverpudlian then finished the tag off with his name ''Lee''.

The pair only stopped when a passing tuk-tuk driver intervened and told them off, at which point they left the spray can and walked back to the hostel.

Residents reported the crime at first light and it took police just a couple of hours to track down the pair.

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